I consult on content strategy and produce web content for technology companies. In 2014, I went around the USA on an 8-month roadtrip (in a bright blue RV called 3DRV) exploring 3D Printing, 3D Scanning, and 3D Design. In the past, I have put pen to paper for the Wall Street Journal, Make, Sports Afield, the Pittsburgh Business Times and many others. You can follow my work via Twitter or email me. I write about the cloud, gadgets and gear, and 3D.

Ford Motor Company Sees Open Source

Ford today announced the launch of its OpenXC vehicle application research platform. Open-source hardware and software toolkits are now available to anybody who’s interested in building hardware and on the OpenXC platform. It is a joint effort with BugLabs (what a great name!).

The launch of OpenXC marks the second developer platform to be offered by Ford, following this week’s announcement of its first software developer program, which makes the SYNC® AppLink™ API available for the creation of smartphone apps that can be controlled inside the car using your voice. See the post from my colleague Kelly Clay to the left.

While AppLink is available in Ford vehicles now, OpenXC is focused on the future as an open-source hardware and software platform developed by Ford Research and Innovation to unleash the power of the open-source hacker community to explore what can be done with vehicle data.

This reminds me of my friend, Doyle Maleche, a serious hacker/maker, who built a device/app for Android to control your vehicle. Currently, it works with GM vehicles, but he and his team are tweaking it to make it available on other vehicles. It lets you start your vehicle from your smartphone, set off the alarm (emergencies), turn on lights, and more. He has a short video of it on the website: obdcanex. OBDLink MX works with all 1996 & newer model year cars and light trucks sold in the U.S., including all American, European, and Asian vehicles. If you live outside the U.S., most newer non-U.S. vehicles are compliant with the OBDII standards.

More from the official Ford announcement:

The OpenXC kit includes a vehicle interface module based on the popular Arduino platform developers can use to read data from the vehicle’s internal communications network. The hardware module provides real-time access to parameters like the vehicle sensors, GPS receiver and vehicle speed. The hardware module is connected to a smartphone or tablet on which apps can be written to consume and use these data.

“Through the OpenXC platform, we are paving the way for new opportunities that will help us prepare for the future of transportation where the automobile, mobile networks and the Internet cloud come together in ways never before imagined,” said Venkatesh Prasad, senior technical leader of Open Innovation for Ford Research and Innovation.

Some of the areas developers can target with OpenXC include:

Big data – Ford is increasingly a data-driven company fusing both internal and external sources to guide product and marketing offerings and support strategic decision making. In addition, vehicle data from the growing list of sensing technologies built into the car can be used locally to provide for the creation of a more personalized, convenient and productive driving experience, and aggregated to help address congestion and improve efficiency

Open-source innovation – Viewing the car as a platform and providing access to real-time data allows for the rapid development of custom hardware and software applications. Ford has extensive experience in development of on-board and off-board applications for production cars using the SYNC in-car connectivity system, and now the Silicon Valley Lab is looking at open-source research using the OpenXC platform

User experience – Connectivity is an increasingly important part of the total user experience while driving. Finding new ways to reduce stress and keep the driver informed can make driving a more pleasant experience

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